


L-O-V-E’s Just Another Word I Never Learned To Pronounce

by WoodenDeer



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn and Noctis are in love comedy, Ardyn is Marty Stu but Dumb and Horny, Ardyn is Noct' and Prom's buddy, Ardyn is cool at spying (no), Fluff and Humor, Love Triangles, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sort Of, Soulmates, for now I can say there will be some school dramas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24733222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodenDeer/pseuds/WoodenDeer
Summary: Fearing that the Chosen King may not be as impressive as promised, Ardyn sneaks into the school where Noctis goes, disguised as a foreign exchange student. He has the big plan to find out if the prince is worthy of his great fate and, what’s more importantly, if he is worthy of Ardyn’s attention in the upcoming future. He throws aside the Chancellor’s guise to become friends with the prince, and it’s where troubles appear.Falling in love with Noctis definitely wasn’t included in Ardyn’s plan.
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 14
Kudos: 23
Collections: Ardynoct DS





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I can't stop being amazed how inspiring and infinitely supportive our Discord server is. You all deserve tons of thank yous and gifts as wonderful as you. And todays is time for guts's gift ;)  
> Enjoy?
> 
> //Feel free to bonk me for every grammar or any other error but please let me know about it firstly x)  
> //The title is a line from the song 'Starstrukk' by 3OH! feat. Katy Perry

Immortality wasn’t as thrilling or pleasant as some might imagine.

Living year after year meant to Ardyn eternal boredom instead of eternal holiday fun. Such terrible disappointment, but he was nothing if not creative. And diligent too in his efforts to dispel ever-present dullness of passing days. Having obtained the title of Chancellor, he tirelessly carried out his job – he even had his personal study in the Zegnautus Keep! Decorated with copper, all red velvet and ebony, his office represented wealth and authority yet offered a snippet of comfort. The perfect place to sit and ponder the world’s future.

After two years of sitting and pondering Ardyn locked the study and never came back there ever again.

Chancellor’s work was forgotten. Ardyn established for himself that fuss over papers was simply not for his gifted personality. And though no one dared to remind him about his official responsibilities – not quite because of the superior position, – the Empire didn’t collapse to its metal carcass of trivia. Documents, which he never saw in person or heard about, kept signing by his name and handing on to His Radiance, Emperor Iedolas. News kept yelling far and wide about places he undeniably honoured with his presence, while in reality Ardyn visited that entrancing chocobo post in Duscae or spent a night under a random bridge in Altissia. Ardyn let small wonders happen in their own pace without his supervision. He had endless life and no desire to waste it in vain.

And then the Chosen King was born. The sensation came to Ardyn like a stream of clean air so fresh he nearly choked on it, coughing as if in the middle of a severe allergy attack. As if the baby strove to tear his throat open with his own wee hands. “Blessed bairn,” Ardyn wheezed as breathing slowly returned to him, “take mercy on my heart.”

Times lasted and so he did. Heated discussions about the color of little prince’s napkins gave way to speculations about the circumstances of Queen Aulea’s death and the young Noctis’ role in that ill-fated event. Ardyn had something to say about both occasions but stayed silent, if not indifferent. After all, Prince was of no interest to Accursed until he was grown up enough to contain divine and royal powers in each neat hand of his. Although, rumors and talks reached his ears without his intentions to know more about table manners of the Astrals’ glossy pet. Oh, one of his daemon darlings gravely injured Noctis that the child survived only thanks to his daddy’s prayers? Nasty, truly awful. Oh, oh, Niflheim invaded Tenebraen lands which the prince ended up unlucky to visit during his recovering? So horrendous, no consolation to the mourners. Where did he leave his hat, hm?

As the prince turned out a teenager, people stopped chattering. To Ardyn’s suspicion. At first, he didn’t notice anything unusual in his measured lifespan. Libraries still provided him havens for days on end, local and foreign boutiques pleased him with exclusive, bizarre attires, and his dear colleagues served him as perennial entertainment. Then the realization hit him at the exact moment when he found himself searching for any mention of the Lucian heir in a newsstand. And detected none. After making quick calculations, Ardyn had concluded Noctis’s 17th birthday was about to happen in a few months. Tender age, full of turbulence and conflicts. So where were high-profile scandals, dirty gossips? Terrific secrets whispering in low voices, the chain of hectic tittle-tattles? No way the boy wasn’t involved in some intricate love polygon which the press would ring about on every corner. Noctis might be the future Dawnbringer, the King of Kings and all last good things that lived in Eos, except in those days he was no more than a teen with typical teen needs and desires. Yet, the last article Ardyn opened greeted him with utter drivel concocted so badly that was crude even to his taste. 

What were the possibilities that the hope of whole Eos was just gilded mediocrity? Ardyn refused to believe it. He would _not_ be defeated by the hand of prudish goody-goody princeling. Or what if in his ordinariness Prince should have taken the victorious first place as well? Maybe Gods themselves created him that way, so it wouldn’t have been a big loss in the end. The toilet paper sleeve for them, the cruel joke for Accursed. Poetic and maudlin, please, pass a handkerchief.

Thus, Ardyn made a decision. He would go to Insomnia and ascertain by his own if Prince was hopeless or there remained at least a meager ray of hope for him. His wit was sharp, his charm was irresistible. Ardyn was confident in himself and his idea.

What could go wrong?

Rolling those four words over and over in his head, Ardyn kept asking himself: what could go wrong? He had a clear plan. His self-control extended to all fields. His abilities were not a subject to a question. Literally nothing could go awry. 

An unintelligible mumbling snapped Ardyn out of his thoughts. He rolled on his side. The sight of long eyelashes and messy hair appeared before him. Pouted in a sleepy grimace lips that he knew were soft, and curled fingers with nails too long so they left scratches. The look became familiar to Ardyn at that rate.

His Royal Highness Prince Noctis of Lucis slept in the same bed with him.

 _Well_. 

***

Apparently, the gem of magic Kingdom Lucis, Crown City Insomnia, was no different from the slums of Gralea.

The same dust covered clogged streets and permeated the fuggy air. Very much alike boorish dwellers with only contrast of dark hair to Nif blonde, their coarse speech betrayed lack of peculiarity to a sophisticated listener to whom Ardyn, of course, regarded himself. Urban glitz spawned skyscrapers like larvae of mosquitoes after rain, and Ardyn didn’t spot anything advanced in it, only shortage of living space. Big houses – small people with minuscule ambitions. Concerns solely about safe walls. Everything one could discover in squalor of imperial suburbs was Insomnia in general. 

But Ardyn didn’t allow it to upset him. Niflheim wasn’t a dreamland either, he got used to modern monstrosity long ago.

He sighed.

His current accommodation took place in the very core of the ‘fancy slums’. It wasn’t like he needed any lodging, not really; Ardyn would enjoy spending his all leisure time ambling through the nooks of once familiar city and probably pass for a newborn city ghost. Friendly one, he daresayed. But the foreign exchange student, who occured to be in the same state school and class with the prince by good fortune, was supposed to acquire a miniature apartment for the duration of his education. Like all adolescent boys, he owned a wide desk for a computer and books, modest wardrobe that was already filled with several outfits, full body mirror to check how decent he looked and a single but comfy chair. Unfortunately, the boy couldn’t afford anything else, wallpapers and appearance were included. But Ardyn’s generosity knew no bounds: what gracious wizard he was if he would refuse the poor thing to conjure a face to him?

How possibly could a teenage foreign student look? Not too conspicuous so as not to attract surplus stares – the boy wasn’t an attention whore, gods forbid, – but fascinating in his plain beauty. Common but not ordinary. That was easy. Raising his hands, ready to do an enchantment, magic at the fingertips, Ardyn hesitated. The problem was he didn’t meet many teenagers during his long, long being. Adults – definitely, aged people – more often than he wished, children, those itty-bitty imps – sure. But youth was a snag. Ardyn thought himself an artist, a sculptor particularly, and every creator needed at least some materials, a database of images and notions, to come up with a masterpiece. 

Modern world might be an ugliness incarnate, but Ardyn should admit not all aspects of it were depressing. Any knowledge gap could be easily eliminated by the gift dear Verstael on behalf of the Empire (or rather the Empire represented by Verstael) provided him with – a smartphone, “only for smart fellows” (he suspected Verstael thus far screamed inside recalling Ardyn’s clumsy joke, but he loved it nevertheless). Apart from taking random photographs of his infuriated coworkers, Ardyn didn’t use his glorified device often, and now was the right time. The screen flashed back to life, demonstrating the opened album of Ravus’ moodiness palette, his favorite. Ardyn switched the tab to a browser and hummed, deep pensive. After a minute of meditation above Moogle search string, he made up his mind. Movies and books were as popular as never before in his memory, the diversity of story genres perplexed yet was a big help to him at that instance. So-called ‘Slice of life’ illustrated normal people in daily circumstances, and wasn’t it what he just searched for?

Clothes fell to the floor; Ardyn stepped out of the pile, not looking away from the phone. Faces and bodies flickered one by one, each showed supposedly common person whose features Ardyn absorbed hungrily. The student’s shape began to form. Clean skin but not doll-like, scattering of moles as an imperfection, a couple of faint scars intrinsic to boys, not quite outstanding height, scarcely higher than average, fair hair indicating that he was, indeed, from the overseas, and a tad lanky build. Ardyn scrolled pictures related to ‘Comedy’ (because the prospect of playing a _prune_ didn’t tempted him, he was a man with a developed sense of humor!). Infantile curls? Oh, how adorable. A goofball smile? Excellent. From the ‘Drama’ section he chose dark circles under the eyes.

Ardyn couldn’t help but added a little special detail, as the icing on the cake, to build his unique alter ego: one eye was darker than other. Simple but pretty. With the same success he might leave his yellow eyes, but he craved a novelty. Why, that way his rich inner world peeped through his eyes even more distinct! And his world kept a lot of secrets, just enough to catch Prince’s attention.

The smile widened on the boy’s face. There was no old Chancellor anymore – from the mirror a future friend of the prince examined the surroundings.

“Darling, you look absolutely ravishing!”


	2. Chapter 2

Jumping over parapets and stray cats, leaving metro station and parks behind, the young boy hurried to school. 

The black jacket wrapped his torso a bit sloppy, obviously too big for the thin figure, and a few wrinkles deformed the once perfectly ironed shirt due to the fast running. The filled to capacity rucksack thudded on his back heavily, causing the Moogle charm rattle with every movement and spread a thrilled sound around. The boy hastily finished eating a toast grasped in his teeth, almost choking but not giving it any meaning.

His heart was full of blooming anticipation. It was his first day.

“Oh no, I am late for school!”

And it was truth, to Ardyn’s displeasure. He made sure to buy everything he needed, big variety of stationery with cheerful prints and bright colors, capacious bag to carry kilograms of textbooks and notebooks the school prescribed, comfortable sportswear for P.E. classes and indoor shoes, but somehow managed to forget the most important thing.

The school uniform. The symbol of juvenile sweet times, and he overlooked it! 

He wouldn’t have time to place an order in a workshop and get the uniform in the same morning, so Ardyn had to make concessions with his conscience. His resolution involved an straightforward in theory scam – stealing the clothes from another pupil. He might bring an illusion to himself, but there came a hitch that he couldn’t make a replica of what he never saw closely. Ardyn knew the specific attributes and, recollecting them, spied unsuspecting children. To his growing frustration, all students that stepped on the roads leading to the Princely School were whether too small, too bulk or girls. Feeling how his time ran out, Ardyn started considering the last option (after all, the school uniform is still a uniform, right?) when he detected an individual with exact height, musculature and, what was preferable, gender he was looking for. As it turned out, the target evinced little zeal to lend his clothes to the one in need, and that after Ardyn asked him with all courtesy he possessed! Their following conversation was of a great but short controversy:

“Can I, please, borrow your costume?”

“No! What the hell?!”

“Can I, please, borrow your costume?”

“You didn’t hear me? Get outta my way!”

“Can I, _please_ , borrow your costume?”

“I said fuck off, faggot!”

It was incredible how fast human attitude changed after one slightest push to a wall.

“Fucking– Ok, ok, fine! Take whatever you want! Dammit, you sick…”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The uniform didn’t fit so well and also stank with sweat, but Ardyn accepted it gratefully. He even let the young cad have his previous attire but only because Ardyn was a man of the big heart and held no grudges.

Nonetheless, the hunt, albeit amusing in the end, took away precious minutes from him. If he planned to make a good impression of himself, he shouldn’t loiter, lateness was permissible only to ladies or coquettes, and Ardyn chose to be none of them. Maybe next time, who knew.

When Ardyn finally made it to the elite kindergarten, the main gates had been already closed, and no visible exit around. That was a problem but not for him; the new foreign student was keen on rock climbing from time to time, Ardyn realized it just then. And wasn’t it convenient? The boy seemed happy to test his skills, so Ardyn found a wall and let him ascend it. Being on the top, he met eyes with the old looking man in greyish clothes, ‘A local watchman,’ he guessed. The boy wished the man a good day and jump off the wall. The watchman was so nice that he didn’t say anything to his tardiness and let him go, though he didn’t greet him either. Maybe he was angry at him but not bothered to show his disapproval.

As Ardyn entered the building, the new predicament appeared before him. Where should he go? Time wasn’t on his side, he couldn’t dawdle around and open every door, hoping the prince would wait for him in a pantry. But schools were famous as the second home for kids, might it be that giggling at something caretaker woman on a watch would be friendly enough to help him?

Upon closer inspection, Ardyn figured out the woman was busy reading some book. What a welcome feeling of knowing school workers didn’t spend a second of their working day on nonsense, but on a didactic interest! An educational institution as it was. The sight of absorbed in reading caretaker cheered Ardyn up, making his smile sincere as he announced his presence by a quiet cough.

“What a lovely morning today, don’t you think so? I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you, madam, but would you be just as lovely and tell me where the prince could be? You see, I am in the same class with His Highness, but I’m afraid I can’t tell where my classroom is, exactly. If it’s not a burden for you, would you lead me to him? Madam?”

In the middle of his explanation Ardyn saw that the woman did not seem to listen to him carefully. Both her eyes and mouth were wide and round, yet she didn’t say a thing. Did he distract her more rough than he intended? The woman looked baffled, almost astonished and kept her gaze fixed on Ardyn. He checked his student outfit. Rush and wall climbing might deform the uniform and put him in a bad light. He should let the school worker know that he wasn’t some kind of ruffian, quite the opposite, he had nothing against her and was a trustworthy person. Thinking about that, Ardyn leaned closer on a counter, bringing his face closer to the woman’s as if saying ‘we are friends here, you and I’.

“ _Miss_ ,” what if the address ‘madam’ was not to her liking? Ardyn continued in a soft voice, “I am new in Insomnia and I don’t know much. I have no one to rely on, only your kindness. Now you’re my last hope. Please, can you–”

With the face of an unhealthy shade, the woman suddenly stood. And dashed off the hallway.

“Wait, miss, where are you going?” Ardyn exclaimed in surprise. That reaction he certainly didn’t expect. Despite her far from girlish figure, the woman moved remarkably quickly, and soon Ardyn lost her tracks in branching corridors.

Refreshing his path in memory, Ardyn returned to the main hall. The clock obligingly informed him that he was already late. If anything, the imperial Chancellor could perform his adored trick with time halting, so the prince hunt would not take forever. However, the student boy did not store such cheating ploys in his arsenal. Thus, if he wanted to save the situation, he should act determinately. To rummage the insides of the caretaker counter, that was it.

The masses of documents and journals he plunged into had strong resemblance to Ardyn’s paperwork which he avoided since what felt like time immemorial. The multiplying lines of crooked handwriting didn’t allure him, so to say, instead they brought the grimace of sheer misery to his face that nearly washed the perfect youngster illusion away. Browsing the visitor log of that day, Ardyn regretted in the first time that modernity didn’t capture all spheres of life, and for some reason school guests still were written down manually.

“Ah-ha!” After combing through infinite amount of pages, Ardyn succeeded in finding the right class number. “Here you are, attaboy.”

Alrighty, he solved one task.

But still.

Where was that class.

Insufferable _tick-tack, tick-tack_ was mocking at him from above, while Ardyn didn’t advance in his searches at all. He doubted a map could improve the situation, not like he saw any in the area. 

Was the boy desperate? Perhaps so. But Ardyn knew, he believed, that it wasn’t all what the boy had up his sleeve. The willpower of his could amaze the Astrals themselves, and there were no hardship able to stop him from becoming the prince’s buddy. Their meeting was predetermined by fate, they were born to bond one day, stars shone to lit their paths they were destined to cross. Should not be underestimated the kinship of two pining souls. 

After forcibly suppressing a wince Ardyn closed his eyes and let his mind float freely. The connection between him and the True King was always there, within reach, fluttered and craved for a touch. Nevermind that before Ardyn tried his best to ignore all pleas of mysterious bond which wasn’t even sensible as far as he was aware. ‘One headache less,’ he thought, cutting the ties and leaving them hung disjointedly. Well, no time like the present, someday it was supposed to happen, so why not that day? The sensation of familiar tiny hands clutching around his neck caught his breath for a mere moment. The same possessiveness as seventeen years ago. Prince never changed. Ardyn laughed hoarsely, “I feel you. Noctis.” His fingers palpated his neck where invisible collar was. Owning both the class number and approximate direction, Ardyn went towards corridors and stairs.

It was disturbing and simultaneously intriguing how magic string jerked him like a real leash. As soon as Ardyn resigned to its existence, it turned from a weak strand into a demanding rope and _punished_ him if Ardyn took a wrong turn. ‘Here, here, I am right here… come to me, we are so close, just a little bit more– No! Don’t go away!’ it besought him in a soundless screech. There was no chance to resist its sheer force. As Ardyn moved deeper into the school, the feeling of the _other_ intensified inside him, a thread, previously pulling, was curling up in his chest like a ball. Ardyn had to concede, the feeling of someone else, someone familiar who wanted him… he didn’t despise it.

The prince beamed like a beacon in Ardyn’s mind’s eye. The memory why he should find him was clouded, and the need, which glowed very much alike, replaced all of his outlier thoughts. That light – he had to have it. He belonged there where that light lived, it was beyond doubt. It was his light.

Roaming around like a sleepwalker, Ardyn barely not hissed at an appearing stranger. In the last second he gripped his chest where the presence of _him_ felt the strongest and managed to shelter himself in the obscurity of a corner. His instincts told him he must have protect _him_. And they were all that he was. Only the loudness of the piercing voice dispelled the fog of his mind:

“What do you mean _ghost_?!” the furious looking woman asked, baring her teeth. And then another scream followed the short silence, “What did I tell you about reading that vulgar pulp in the school? Janet, I swear, if I’ll see one more erotic thriller in your hands…”

The woman passed him with long strides like a local hurricane, but her voice continued to shake walls and Ardyn’s eardrums for a while. Snapping back to reality, he remembered his Noctis. Um, his affair. He had to find him. 

The school was rather enormous; a thought that the same decorations on all floors might be inconvenient for lost new students obviously didn’t creep in architects’ heads. And how he was supposed to determine the time there, trapped in halls? Via sun position through a window? The scent hit his senses as Ardyn approached the window. No, not a sweaty odor that time and not an actual smell, but something more… visceral. Intuitive even. And so sublime he was struck by admiration. The second of knowing that feeling was worth years without it. It might be called calming if Ardyn’s chest wasn’t seized with sorrow. He forced it to wait for so long.

Ardyn briefly checked the classrooms nameplates and made sure he was close to his aim. If the house refused to collaborate, that meant nothing. On the outside it was just plain walls and no entangled passages. He opened the window and went out into summer air.

And again, the boy’s agility came in handy to prevent any lamentable incidents. It would be a pity if he have plunged to death in his first day at school, Ardyn had doubts Prince would love the smashed stain in the schoolyard. So he leveled out standing in the windowsill outside the building and grabbed the roughness of the wall. He took a couple of tiny steps and glanced down for some reasons. Well. He definitely should hold tight. The weather pleased Ardyn with chill breeze that at the height of several floors blew like stormy gusts and tempted to let go of the ledge, but the boy smiled wickedly at the feeling of a small challenge. The danger! The risk! Oh how breathtaking was the way lying ahead him (Ardyn couldn’t not mark how literally breathtaking it was). Daydreaming of how Prince looked like, the boy moved further, unattainable for fear.

That flavor Ardyn sensed before got stronger as he followed it, and even the wind didn’t disturb its clear presence. He stopped eating long ago – why bother if he didn’t taste the food – but that, that smell made him almost slobbering. _Delicious_ , he moaned. _Take it_ , daemons screamed. The desire ached in him sorely to that degree where Ardyn had to make a stop and even his breath, which wasn’t a help at all as more of the scent filled his nose. ‘My, my, and how am I supposed to not devour this freshly baked bun at the first sight?’ Ardyn smiled with carnivorous fondness. There was nothing bad if Noctis’ future friend would be a little bit hungry all the time…

When an insignificant couple of meters remained before the cherished goal, Ardyn resisted the urge to jump to the window. There. There was his Prince. So close that he probably could see him behind a waving curtain. Or walls. Or across half the planet, and it wasn’t a mere exaggeration. The proximity of the Chosen King sent quivers through his being and simultaneously made him feel invincible.

What was a pilaster without protrusions or visible chips before their destiny?

Ardyn regained his composure. The first impression was important, he needed to appear flawless. Despite the wind he smoothed his hair and creases on the clothes with one hand while still holding onto the frame of previous window. Noble, smiling, perfect for the prince. Let’s go.

He slipped on the pilaster as a shadow and materialized on the desired sill. The window was slightly ajar and he just opened it wider. All his prepared phrases faded away as the realization of unearthly congruence flooded him in an overwhelming wave.

Noctis was right there, in front of him, looking into his eyes with his own magnificent blues and, oh Gods, Astrals, you damned Eos’ children, that was unfair. Why should Noctis have been so dazzling? Why should Ardyn feel so helpless against his beauty? He swore he saw the halo around Noctis’ head which made him blink through stinging tears at the sight of his luster. Noctis shone that brightly Ardyn could die just watching him.

And maybe fall in love with him.

Noctis opened his pretty, sinful, appetizing mouth in a weak _Uhh_ sound, and Ardyn knew he wasn’t able to hold it anymore. Prince sat at the desk and in the next second was on the floor as Ardyn jumped on him. There was the dull _thud_ before Noctis made a painful groan which Ardyn swallowed in a hungry kiss. It was like to inhale air for the first time, to drink water on a deathbed, and he couldn’t get enough of Noctis’ special taste.

It was the taste of life.

With great difficulty Ardyn tore himself from Noctis’ lips, feeling endlessly unsatisfied, as the sensation of iron grip on his arm kicked him out of the rush of madness. Noctis lay there, beneath him, and focusing on his big blue eyes, Ardyn laughed happily.

“Nice to finally meet you, Prince Noctis. My name is Nicholas Casper. Would you like to become friends with me?”


End file.
